Comments (0)With more people looking for work this week than at any other point during the year Penny Strutton, chairman of the Nottingham branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, gives her tips on standing out from the crowd

THE number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in Notts is at its lowest in five years, at just over 12,500.

This is a clear indication that businesses are growing and recruiting more staff – and indeed employers in Notts forecast that this year will be one of the busiest years for recruitment since 2008.

All of this spells out great news for job-seekers. However, when applying for advertised jobs you will be competing against hoards of people; so ensuring you have a solid understanding of your skills and strengths and how they relate to the position, as well as being able to communicate them, is vitally important.

The following steps should help you stay on track:

Step 1: Conduct a skills review.

Make an itinerary of all the activities you do during an average week, think about how you do them and the skills you use. For example, if you are a receptionist you may welcome people to the office – this requires communication and interpersonal skills.

Now narrow your list down to your top ten skills that you enjoy and are competent in. Through conducting your review you will have a better understanding of the type of job function that you are looking for – as 70% of your top ten skills should feature in your job for you to experience job satisfaction.

Step 2: Write your USP (unique selling points).

What makes you unique and the best person for the job? Your combination of skills, experience, qualifications, knowledge, values and achievements makes you unique. Being able to communicate succinctly why you’re the best person for the job will help you promote yourself effectively.

Step 3: Write up your CV.

Your CV is your sales document; it should provide a summary of you and your career history, drawing out the highlights and achievements. Your top ten skills with examples of experience should feature on the first page, as well as a version of your USP under the personal profile. Remember, a recruiter will spend on average 15 seconds reviewing the CV, so ensuring you have a good summary on the first page is critical to encouraging them to read on.

Step 4: Take yourself to market.

Creating a job search strategy is important to remain focused and ensure your time is spent efficiently. Don’t limit yourself to searching the internet, use your network to connect with influential people, make speculative approaches to organisations that interest you, and make personal approaches to people who could help you get a foot in the door.

Step 5: Sell yourself.

Being able to talk about yourself positively, drawing on examples of experience is critical to securing a new job both within a networkingenvironment and at interview. There are heaps of interview questions on the internet which will help think about what you personally have done and can bring to an organisation.

Step 6: Don’t give up!

Give yourself a sensible period of time to secure the right job and a number of milestones which are achievable. You will also incur knock-backs – which are all part of the process.